


The Bookkeeper's Daughter

by Indigo_Arts, slingshot344



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: F/F, Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:31:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23300176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indigo_Arts/pseuds/Indigo_Arts, https://archiveofourown.org/users/slingshot344/pseuds/slingshot344
Summary: Black Sheep is the only child in V.I.L.E. Island. One of her few sources of fun is her annual water balloon attack on the Bookkeeper. However, this year was different.AU where Julia is Cookie Booker’s daughter that she brings every year to the island and becomes Carmen’s best friend.
Relationships: Julia "Jules" Argent/Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep
Comments: 55
Kudos: 359





	1. The Tiny Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> I thought about this AU when I joined a carulia discord server last year. Ever since, my discord friend, slingshot344, has been helping me expand on this universe (she should get an account here soon). I hope you enjoy our story!

The day started out like any other. However, this day was the one seven year-old Black Sheep anticipated the most. Every December first, V.I.L.E. 's bookkeeper arrived on the island to deliver the organization’s financial records for the year. Black Sheep did not care for such grown-up matters though. Her plan was the same as the past two years: to launch a water balloon attack on the bookkeeper and her Captain.

Black Sheep had no ill will against the Bookkeeper. Being the only child in the entire island filled her with relentless boredom. So, throwing water balloons at the woman was one of the few _“fun”_ things she could think of. Black Sheep loved the adrenaline rush that came from angering the lady and getting away with it. There was nothing like seeing the bookkeeper storming into the academy, dripping wet, demanding for her to be punished only to be brushed off by the faculty. Thus, she would not miss her chance to pull the prank this year.

She had the bucket full of water balloons ready for attack. Black Sheep hid behind a large rock that was facing the dock and waited. The boat arrived on schedule. As always, the Captain came out of the boat first and tied it to the dock. Then, descending from the small ladder, came down Black Sheep’s main target: The Bookkeeper. Without losing sight of the scene, Black Sheep reached into the bucket and got a hold of a water balloon. She slowly rose from behind the rock, lifting her arm with the balloon jiggling on her hand. The girl bit her lip to try to hold her laughter as she slowly swung her arm back.

Black Sheep was aiming at her target when she spotted a smaller figure following behind the Bookkeeper. She stopped right on her tracks. The slippery water balloon jiggled off her hand and exploded on the rock, splashing her shirt. Black Sheep didn’t care though. She was too invested in trying to figure out who this third person was. The girl squinted her eyes and leaned forward on the rock to get a better look. The other small person had long, black, straight hair, and very fair skin.

_Could it be?_ Black Sheep thought to herself. _“Another kid? The Bookkeeper brought another kid!”_ The Bookkeeper, Cookie Booker, quickly made her way up to the island from the dock pulling the small girl who desperately tried to keep up with her mother with her short legs. Sometimes, the girl would fall behind on the steps and Cookie had to pull her up from her arm. “She looks so fragile...” Black Sheep thought. She felt bad for the girl as she watched how she tried to hold on to her mother’s dress so she wouldn’t fall behind. “Julia, I am not going to carry you. You are big enough to walk on your own.” Cookie snapped at the small girl when she tugged on her skirt.

Tears began to well in the girl’s round, brown eyes. Cookie rolled her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Honestly Julia, get yourself together! You are seven years old!”

Black Sheep couldn’t stand seeing this anymore. She rose from behind the rock and made her way towards them as the Bookkeeper and her daughter reached the top of the stairs. “Hello!” Black Sheep shouted excitedly. The pitch of Black Sheep’s voice startled Cookie and Julia. Cookie nearly lost her footing which could have caused her to roll down stairs to the dock. Luckily for her, she was able to regain her balance. She shot an angry look at Black Sheep who was now standing next to her daughter. Her mischievous gray eyes stared back at her with defiance.

“You..” said Cookie with disdain. “If you think you are going to launch another water balloon att-”

“Hi! My name is Black Sheep! Your name’s Julia right?” Black Sheep interrupted before Cookie could finish her sentence. Julia eased her grip on her mother’s skirt and gave Black Sheep a small nod. Her eyes were red and her cheeks stained with her tears. “I’m seven too! Do you want to play with me?” Black Sheep tugged on Julia’s arm. Cookie was not pleased at this sight and got a hold of Black Sheep’s wrist.

“What do you think you are doing, hooligan? What makes you think you can touch my Julia with your filthy hands?” Black Sheep tried to squirm her way out of Cookie’s grip but still tried to keep her hold on Julia. The struggle made Julia more upset and she began to cry once more.

“Problem here?” The struggle came to a halt as Coach Brunt approached the three. Julia was quietly sobbing. “Coach Brunt! You see, your little...thing was tugging on my child. I was just trying to stop her!”

Coach Brunt turned to Black Sheep, “Is that true, Lambkins?” Black Sheep looked at Julia. “I just wanted to play with her. I didn’t mean any harm!”

“See, Cookie? You’re just making a fuss over nothing! You can let go of little Lambkins unless…” Brunt let her words linger. Cookie knew exactly what that meant and let go of Black Sheep’s wrist. Cookie tried to make her way to the Academy once more dragging Julia along with her.

“Hey, Cookie! Do you really want to haul that child along with you while you work on your accounting? Why don’t you just let her hang out with Black Sheep while you’re working? I’m sure she’ll love playing with Lambkins.” suggested the Coach. Cookie shot her a dirty look. She was not about to leave her daughter with that trouble maker. However, agreeing to this offer would get her daughter off of her back for a little while and seeing as how Julia kept tugging at her, she really had no choice but to relent to Brunt’s request. “Fine! But only for this one time.”

Cookie let go of Julia’s hand. “Go. What are you waiting for? You can play with her.” Julia shyly made her way towards Coach Brunt and Black Sheep. Black Sheep couldn’t contain her glee and was bouncing excitedly next to Brunt as Julia walked closer to them. “Don’t worry, Cookie. The nannies will keep a good eye on ‘em.” said Coach Brunt.

“Right.” Cookie turned and walked towards the Academy. _“Whatever nannies were looking after that rascal are obviously doing a poor job”_ she thought to herself. She would be a fool if she didn’t notice the bucket of water balloons that was sitting right next to the rock where the girl emerged from.

_“Wait a minute...the child did not attack me this time! Was it because of Julia?"_ Cookie thought and scratched her chin. _"Maybe, bringing Julia with me is not such a bad idea."_

Cookie was grateful Julia’s nanny had canceled on her at the last minute. Otherwise, she would have not made this intriguing discovery. She would bring Julia every December first with her, even if it meant her daughter would have to interact with Brunt’s rowdy little menace.


	2. Getting Around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Black Sheep shows Julia around.

Julia watched as her mother walked away in a hurry. She wondered if she was going to be scolded on the way back home for embarrassing her mother again. Her thoughts were interrupted when Black Sheep grabbed her left hand. This caused Julia to snap back into reality and turned to Black Sheep. “Hey, are you okay?” Black Sheep said.

“Uh, yeah.” Julia replied, wiping the leftover moisture in her eyes. “Poor little thing! Why don’t I take you two to your room, Lambkins? I will have the nannies give you some snacks.” said Coach Brunt as she walked the two girls towards the academy. Black Sheep skipped as they made their way to her room. She occasionally shot glances at Julia and gave her a smile. Julia did not know how to respond to such gestures. She just glanced shyly down at the floor.

When the three were approaching Black Sheep’s room, they could see two young women standing in the hallway. They looked worried and were frantically asking questions to the students that were passing by. Some shook their heads before walking away. The two girls were V.I.L.E. students who were tasked to look after Black Sheep while her new tutor arrived. The girls were playing with Black Sheep on the courtyard when she begged them to play hide and seek with them.

Black Sheep asked one of them to count and the other one to hide. The girl that was supposed to hide followed Black Sheep to her hiding place, but she insisted that she wanted to hide somewhere else. The girl relented but told her that she had to hide nearby. Black Sheep, however, had other plans. When she saw that the young student was distracted, she made her way to the foliage and disappeared from her sight. By the time the students caught on to her plan, it was too late.

Coach Brunt stopped for a while and watched as the desperate students began to argue and put the blame on each other. Brunt sighed and shook her head. Black Sheep tried to hold her laughter and Julia gave her a puzzling look. “Hey, you two!” Yelled Coach Brunt. The girls stopped arguing and quickly turned their heads towards their teacher. Coach Brunt and the two kids walked towards the students. 

“I asked you to do one thing.”

“Yes, Coach Brunt.” The two girls replied. 

“What if something would have happened to little Lambkins? Hmm?”

“I’m sorry, Coach, but she-” one of the girls replied, but was quickly cut off by Brunt.

“I did not ask for an excuse! I gave you a task and I expected you to carry it on with utmost perfection.” snarled Coach Brunt

“Yes, mam.”

“Now, I will allow you to redeem yourselves. I will leave Lambkins in her room with her little friend. Your job is to make sure they stay there. Is that understood?”

The two girls nodded. “Good! They also need some snacks. So why don’t you decide who will get them and who will keep an eye on these two meanwhile?” Coach Brunt walked towards the door of Black Sheep’s room and opened it. Once the girls walked in she gently closed the door behind them. Behind the door, Black Sheep and Julia could hear Coach Brunt’s muffled yells telling one of the students to hurry with the snacks.

Julia felt bad for the students and she stood in front of the door with a worried look. Black Sheep took her hand and walked Julia towards her bed. “Don’t worry! Coach Brunt is just strict with her students, but she’s actually really nice.” said Black Sheep and gently squeezed Julia’s hand. “If you say so...” Julia mumbled melancholically as she gave Black Sheep a small yet doleful smile.

“I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to make you cry. I saw that you were upset and I wanted to play with you to cheer you up.” Black Sheep let go of Julia’s hand and jumped on her bed. She tapped on the space next to her to invite Julia to sit with her. “It’s okay. My mom doesn’t like it when I cry and get scared.” said Julia.

“Why were you scared?” asked Black Sheep. Julia sat right next to Black Sheep and looked at her shoes. “The ocean is scary. I don’t like how it moves the boat back and forth.”

“Oh...”

“I have never been to many places outside of my house. When I do go to new places, I get really nervous. That’s why mom gets mad at me."She sniffled "I’m just a bad kid I guess.” Tears began to form in her eyes once more. Black Sheep started to regret asking her that question. She tried to think of ways to keep Julia from crying, but she couldn’t come up with anything. 

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door and Black Sheep jumped from her bed to answer it. One of the students from earlier walked in with a basket of cookies and brownies. “Here you go. Please don’t get out of our sight again.” the student huffed irritatedly. “It won’t happen again. Promise!” Black Sheep winked and stuck her tongue out. 

  
  


Black Sheep took the basket and placed it between her and Julia and sat on her bed once more. She grabbed a brownie and gave it to Julia. “Here you go! Don’t be sad anymore. Brownies always cheer me up when I’m feeling down! These have big chunks of chocolate in them too.” Black Sheep took a brownie for herself and took a big bite out of it. Julia took a small bite out of hers and wiped her mouth with her sleeve. “Why does everyone call you Black Sheep?”

Black Sheep shoved the rest of her brownie in her mouth. “Black Sheep is my code name!” She said pridefully, her chest puffing out with unrestrained confidence . Her mouth was still full which grossed Julia out. “What is a code name?”

“All V.I.L.E. students get one once they graduate from the academy. It's the name they use instead of their real one when they go thieving. I just got mine early.”

“So, what is your real name?”

Black Sheep didn’t know how to respond. All she knew that this was her code name, but she never learned her real name. She did not want to admit it to Julia though. “Well, like I said _every_ thief has a code name. So, I’m not gonna give my real name out. It’s thief code.”

Julia chuckled. “Okay, but you’re not a thief _yet_.” “Am too!" Black Sheep retorted defensively "I’m the best pickpocketer in the academy. I may not be a student yet but I'm the best thief ever, I know it!.”

Black Sheep jumped from her bed and stood in front of Julia. “I can prove it. I can even get around the academy without anyone noticing.” Black Sheep’s bravado made Julia skeptical. “How can you even show me if we can’t get out of this room?” Black Sheep smirked and whispered, “Watch.”

She walked to the corner of her room and moved one of her toy boxes to reveal a vent. Julia raised her eyebrow. Black Sheep pulled the cover off the vent. “Come on!” Julia was horrified. Black Sheep couldn’t be serious. “We're not going in _there_ are we?” Julia asked anxiously.

“C'mon It'll be fun!” Black Sheep giggled mischievously until she noticed that Julia was becoming uncomfortable. “Look, I’ve done this a bunch of times." Black Sheep assured "It’s completely safe so long as you follow my lead. I promise this isn’t a prank.” 

“Okay, I’m in." Julia complied reluctantly "But only because I don’t want to stay here by myself.” Julia stood from the bed and walked towards the vent. “Before we leave, we need to take some snacks for the trip.” Black Sheep runs to her bed and shoves several cookies in her pockets and makes her way back to the vent. “Ready Julia?” Julia was already starting to regret her decision, but it was too late to back out. She dreadfully stared at the dark entrance of the vent. She took a deep breath. “Yes, I’m good to go.”

Black Sheep was the first one to go in followed by Julia. Once inside the vent, Julia noticed it wasn’t as dark as it initially looked. Some light sipped in from other openings and they could easily see their way through. It was also wide enough for the two to occasionally squeeze right next to each other. “This vent also connects to the basement. We are getting close.” Black Sheep picked up her pace and stopped on one of the openings that was facing the basement. “Come take a look, Julia.” she whispered.

Julia crawled her way to Black Sheep as quiet as possible. Once she reached the grill opening, she squeezed right next to her. Black Sheep pointed down at one of the students that was standing below them. “See that guy right there? He’s been bothering me since he entered the academy this year.” She took a cookie from her pocket and broke a piece off of it. “So I’m gonna give him a _piece_ of me.”

Black Sheep squeezed the piece in her hand until it turned into crumbs. She then sprinkled the crumbs through the grill of the vent. The crumbs fell on the student’s hair and between the nape of his neck and collar. The girls watched as the student frantically tried to ruffle his hair and pulled his shirt collar to remove the crumbs. He spun around trying to find the source of the falling crumbs to no avail. 

Black Sheep tried to hold in her laughter, occasionally letting out soft giggles. Julia also began to giggle and covered her mouth with her hand. She found the whole ordeal very amusing. Julia could never get away with something like this back home, especially with her mother around. So, taking part of this prank filled her with a type of joy she had never experienced before.

“Okay, now...don’t crawl on top of the vent cover cause it will come loose and you'll fall. I learned that the hard way.” Black Sheep stretched over the cover and began to crawl again. Julia copied her technique and followed. “You know, doing this is one of the most fun things you can do here. One time, I crawled to the vent that leads into the student dormitory and started pretending I was a ghost. I scared the daylights out of everyone.” Black Sheep smirked. “It’s one of my proudest moments.”

“Is there much else to do here?”

“Not if you’re the only kid on the entire island.”

The girls continued to crawl until Black Sheep stopped in front of another opening. “Oh! Let’s get out through here!” She pushed the cover off and they slid out the vent. The opening led to an empty hallway. At the end there was a glass door that led to the forest. “Hardly anyone comes here. So, it will be hard for us to get caught.” Black Sheep pushed the glass door open. “Follow me, Julia!”

Julia ran after Black Sheep into the forest outside. Outside the door, there was a trail that led to a cliff. The girls walked their way through the trail until they reached a small clearing right by the cliff. Black Sheep and Julia sat on a flat, large rock. The sea was visible in front of them and the sun was slowly setting at the horizon. Black Sheep pulled the cookies from her pocket, but they were already broken. She offered some pieces to Julia. They both ate the pieces as they watched the sunset. The two sat in silence listening to the waves crashing against the cliff and the wind blowing through the foliage.

“So, how are you liking it so far?” said Black Sheep, breaking the silence that had begun to grow between them. “Oh, um, it was pretty fun I suppose.” Julia stuttered anxiously, her face heating up as she took a bite out of her piece of cookie. Black Sheep scratched her head, “Umm...so...would you come back next year?”

Julia thought for a moment. She had never had this much fun in her life. She mostly spent her time in her house playing and reading by herself when she wasn't being tutored. It would be amazing if her mother could bring her next year. She turned to Black Sheep, who was anticipating her response. “Yes, absolutely!”

They both smiled at each other. When they noticed it was getting dark, Black Sheep suggested to get back before anyone would notice they were gone. Before they entered the vent once more, Black Sheep put her hand on Julia’s shoulder. “Well, since you did so well on your first ever caper you’re gonna need a code name.”

“I can't really think of anything right now”

“Let’s see...Julia….hmmm” Black Sheep lingered in her own thoughts for a few seconds. “How about, Jules? It kind of sounds like your real name but it isn’t!” Julia liked the sound of it. “ _Jules”_ she thought. “Sounds lovely! Only you can call me that though.” said Julia.

“Deal!” said Black Sheep. The girls then crouched down and made their way inside the vent.

* * *

“Those two have been awfully quiet. Don’t you think?” said one of the girls to her fellow student. The “nannies” were sitting on two chairs outside of Black Sheep’s room. One on each side of the door. “At this point, I really don’t care.” responded the other student. “I just wish they gave us extra credit for putting up with this.”

“Look, that Black Sheep kiddo has her way of sneaking out of places. What if she left with her friend somewhere? Plus, I heard the other girl is the bookkeeper’s daughter. If she goes missing we are totally screwed!”

Reality dawned on the other student. “Damn, you’re right! Maybe, it wouldn’t hurt to check.” The two stood from their chairs and hesitated before opening the door. Once inside the room, they noticed the girls were not sitting on Black Sheep’s bed. They both let out an anxious gasp. Then, Black Sheep innocently poked her head from the other side of her bed followed by Julia. The students let out a sigh of relief.

“Are you two okay?” Black Sheep asked the students with a mischievous smile. “Yes, we're just peachy.” retorted one of the students sarcastically before shutting the door. Black Sheep and Julia looked at each other and began to giggle. Their clothes were stained with dust and the soles of their shoes full of mud.


	3. Monkey Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Black Sheep is excited to spend time with her best friend, but Cleo has other plans.

Having Julia visit every year was bliss. Black Sheep felt that she finally had someone she could relate to on the island, even if their time together was brief. The V.I.L.E. faculty had no problem remembering the date was near. Black Sheep’s behavior would change as the date was approaching and she would act more daring and rambunctious than usual. 

The faculty also noticed that her pranks were more elaborate when Julia was around. Last year, she sneaked into Dr. Bellum’s lab and released all the frogs she was cloning into the academy. Julia herself almost never partook in the pranks but still seemed rather endeared by their wards' antics, leading the faculty to the conclusion that Black Sheep amped up her game in order to impress her. 

Shadowsan was the first to point it out to her when Julia left. “You are only causing all this trouble to impress your friend, aren’t you Black Sheep?”

“I always pull pranks!” Black Sheep huffed back at Shadowsan. Her cheeks turned as red as her hair ties. This was enough proof for Shadowsan. He met with the other faculty to discuss a plan to prevent this from happening once more. “I think we are making a big deal out of something harmless.” said Coach Brunt.

“Of course it isn’t much of a problem to you, Coach Brunt. You are always finding excuses for the child.” responded Maelstrom as he took a sip of his coffee. 

“I don’t really mind if Black Sheep is causing mischief. My only problem is that she might ruin one of my projects in an attempt to amuse the bookkeepers daughter.” added Dr. Bellum before once again becoming occupied with her screens. 

Cleo stood up, “Maybe, if we try my method we can keep her in line for the rest of the day.”

“Can't we all agree that Lambkins will do as she pleases regardless of what we do?” said Brunt.

“I am still going through with my plan. Whether you like it or not, Brunt.” Cleo insisted firmly.

Coach Brunt leaned back on her chair. “Knock yourself out.” She said sarcastically.

* * *

Black Sheep stood on the dock waiting for Cookie’s boat to arrive. She couldn’t wait for Julia to get to the island and do all the things she had planned for the day. The girl spotted a small figure floating on the ocean's horizon. In a matter of seconds, Black Sheep was able to make out the silhouette of the bookkeeper’s boat.

“She’s here!” she exclaimed to herself and ran to the end of the dock. The boat was there in a matter of minutes which felt like an eternity for Black Sheep. She didn’t even acknowledge Cookie and her Captain's existence when they came out of the boat. When Julia descended from the ladder, she threw herself at her, giving her a tight hug causing the smaller girl to blush and almost drop the book she had in her hand.

“Ahem!” the sound of Cookie clearing her throat caught Black Sheep’s attention and she let go of Julia. “Oh...I got too excited. My bad, Jules.” said Black Sheep without acknowledging Cookie whatsoever. Cookie became irritated by Black Sheep’s awful manners, but decided to brush it off since she had more important things than lecturing a child that wasn't her own on their behavior. However, there was no denying that she was not pleased with how close her daughter was getting to the troublemaker.

Julia took Black Sheep’s hand and led her to the stairs that took them from the dock to the island. “So, what do you have planned for us today?” teased Julia. 

“Well...who knows what this day has in store.”

“There you are! I was looking for you.” The girls were interrupted by Countess Cleo. “Come with me, Black Sheep. We have things to do.”

Black Sheep and Julia looked at each other confused. "What do you mean?"

"Im taking you for modeling lessons," the Countess explained " They are a lovely way to teach discipline and good etiquette to less than well-mannered children."

"Aww! Can't I play with Jules for five minutes?" bargained Black Sheep.

"No."

"Three more minutes?"

_"No."_

"A minute and a half?"

“Black Sheep, you’re coming with me and that's an order!” demanded Cleo, quickly getting tired of Black Sheep's tomfoolery 

"Fine, I'll go." Black Sheep agreed begrudgingly before shuffling off towards Cleo.

“Don’t worry about Julia. She can wait in your room until we are finished.” Cleo glanced at Julia, signaling her to follow. Cleo led the girls to the academy and dropped Julia at Black Sheep’s room. “We will be done in about an hour. Meet Black Sheep in my garden by then if you wish to continue your silly games.” Black Sheep stood next to the Countess clenching her fists. Julia could tell she was furious. 

Julia walked inside the room and sat on the bed. She opened the book she was carrying, a Nancy Drew novel, and began to read. Time passed as she immersed herself in the story and by time she decided to check the clock, it was time to go to the garden. She used a postcard she brought as a bookmark and placed the book on the bed.

She quickly made her way out and into Countess Cleo’s garden to meet with Black Sheep. When she entered the lush garden, Julia noticed a couple of small creatures hanging out on the trees. Upon closer inspection, she deduced that the creatures were capuchin monkeys. Julia had never been around monkeys, or any primate for that matter; so she decided not to approach them and walked down the path that led to Countess Cleo’s classroom. 

Julia had not walked far when she spotted Black Sheep making her way towards her. “Black Sheep! I--” Julia began before noticing that Black Sheep had her hands deep inside the pockets, as if she was trying to hide something. “Hey...uh...how did it go? What did you do for Countess Cleo?” asked Julia. “Nothing. She made me do boring stuff like making me walk in a straight line with books on my head to ‘put me in line.’” Black Sheep avoided Julia’s gaze while trying to keep her hands inside her pockets. 

Julia noticed the fabric around the pockets was starting to get wet. Her eyes darted back to meet Black Sheep’s face. “What do you have in your pockets?” 

“Nothing, why?”

“I know you’re lying. Just show me.”

Black Sheep sighed and reluctantly pulled the contents out of her pockets. She took two slender tins of caviar from her left pocket and another one from her right one. “There! You wanted to see them? Here they are!”

Julia shook her head. “I wanted to hide them from Cleo in another fridge to annoy her a little. I wasn’t going to eat them.” Black Sheep giggled. “Cleo forgot to order more tins because she's been super busy. So, she’s down to only these! I can’t wait to see the look in her face when she can’t find them.” she snickered while grinning at Julia.

“You’re going to get in trouble again!” said Julia.

The tins were too cold for Black Sheep to hold and she placed them on the tea table that was right next to them. Black Sheep then went into detail on how she was going to orchestrate the prank. Julia crossed her arms and kept nodding her head. “How are you so certain the plan will work?” said Julia, skeptical. Black Sheep shrugged. “Let’s just hide them before she notices they’re gone.” The girls then turned their attention to the tea table where the tins were located. However, the three tins were no longer there.

“Jules, you didn't take any of the tins did you?”

“No, I was in front of you the whole time!”

They both ran to the table and began to look around it to find the caviar. They looked under the table and chairs. No tins. Black Sheep inspected the bushes in case they fell and rolled under them. Nothing. 

Suddenly,the clinking of light metal descended from the trees’ branches and onto the floor. Julia and Black Sheep froze. Then, they slowly turned to see one of the caviar lids just under one of the trees. “How...oh no!!” both girls whisper-shouted. They ran to the tree and looked up to see the capuchins feasting on two of the caviar tins.

Black Sheep stood there trying to wrap her mind around the situation. When she came into her senses she muttered, “I’m so dead.” When the girls thought all hope was lost, they spotted one of the monkeys with an unopened tin sitting on one of the branches. “No, not yet!” said Black Sheep and pulled Julia towards the tree’s trunk.

“Quick! Give me a lift!”

“What? You are not gonna go after that monkey are you?”

“If we recover one of tins, I might be able to trick Cleo into thinking she had only that one left.”

“Okay!” Julia lowered her stance and interlaced her fingers. Black Sheep stepped on her hands and, with all her strength, Julia gave her a boost. Black Sheep also propelled herself upwards with her free leg to help Julia with the lifting and got a hold of the nearest branch. Once she was hanging, she swung her legs up, wrapped them around the branch, and used her strength to bring herself upside up.

Black Sheep made eye contact with the capuchin that was holding the tin. The monkey put the tin in his mouth and ran up the tree and Black Sheep followed after him. Julia watched from the ground as Black Sheep jumped from branch to branch trying to grab the monkey. “Black Sheep be careful!” she yelled when her friend almost slipped.

Black Sheep was closing in on the distance between her and the monkey when he jumped to a branch that was too slim to hold her weight. She reached forward, got a hold of the monkey’s tail, and pulled it. The pain of the tail pull caused the monkey to screech and tin fell from his mouth. Julia ran and caught it before it could hit the floor. 

“HECK YEAH!” yelled Black Sheep from the trees. She was so excited about recovering the caviar that she didn’t notice she still had a hold of the capuchin’s tail. From the corner of her eye, she saw the capuchin turning towards her. The monkey hissed and bore his teeth at Black Sheep. “Ah! I’m sorry little friend.” Her attempts to deescalate the monkey’s ire were in vain and he launched himself towards her.

In an attempt to avoid the attack, Black Sheep lost her grip and slipped from the branch. She tried to grab on to the other branches but her hands slipped because of the leaves. Thankfully, she fell into the bushes below the tree instead of the floor. Julia ran towards the bushes and pushed the foliage to find Black Sheep. Black Sheep’s arms were covered in bruises and scratches and had leaves and twigs sticking out of her hair. “Did you get the caviar?” asked Black Sheep, slightly dazed from her fall from the trees. Julia showed her the tin and Black Sheep laid her head back and let out a sigh of relief.

The rustling of leaves from above caused Julia to look up. She saw the monkey descending from the trees to continue the attack. Julia ripped a thick branch from one of the bushes. She then started hitting the branches near the monkey and pointed the stick at him. “Back off! I said, BACK OFF!” she yelled and the capuchin retreated back to the top of the tree with the other monkeys.

“What’s with all this commotion?” said Countess Cleo, rushing to the girls. It did not take her long to notice Julia was holding one of her caviar tins. “Is that my caviar?!” she pointed at the tin in Julia’s hands. Suddenly, an empty tin fell on the Countess’ head. She looked up to see two of her monkeys with caviar stains on their mouths and faces. One of them was still licking a tin and dropped it.

Cleo was overcome by rage. “I knew it! I knew you would pull something like this. You even got her to help you!” said Cleo pointing at Julia. “No! Don't blame Julia, It wasn't her fault! This was my idea!” she emerged from the bushes, occasionally tripping over gnarled roots as she made her way towards the two. “She saw that I had the caviar and she tried to change my mind, but the monkeys got to it before I could return it. Jules had nothing to do with this. It was all my fault! Please don't get her in trouble.” Black Sheep stood between Cleo and Julia. She wanted to protect her best friend from the woman’s wrath.

Julia stepped next to Black Sheep and extended her hand with the tin towards Cleo. “Here, we struggled to recover this one. I’m very sorry.” Julia apologized, slinking back behind the taller girl. 

Cleo took the tin from Julia’s hand. “Take your friend and go to your room.” she said sternly. The girls made their way out of the garden. They both walked in silence until they got to Black Sheep’s room. Once there, they both sat on the floor. “I’m really sorry, Jules. Now, your mom is gonna get mad at you and it’s all my fault.” said Black Sheep. “My mother gets mad at me for everything. I’m used to it.” replied Julia.

“Still...but thank you for standing up for me.” said Black Sheep, giving Julia a smile. “Oh! I almost forgot!” Julia reached for her book that was sitting on top of the bed and opened it. She took the postcard she was using as a bookmark and handed it to Black Sheep. The postcard was of the Netherlands’ tulip fields. The tulips seemingly stretched on forever into the horizon and each row varied in color, from the richest reds to the darkest blues. Giant windmills towered above them in the background, standing guard like sentinels above the tranquil rows of flowers. Black Sheep was completely mesmerized. “My mother brought many postcards from one of her business trips and I thought I’d give you one.” said Julia.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Julia leaned against Black Sheep’s shoulder who was still transfixed by the picture on the postcard. “I’ve never seen anything like it!” Black Sheep exclaimed. “We have to go there someday, Jules!” Julia raised her eyebrow. “But Black Sheep, we can’t go anywhere right now. We have no money and there's no way our families will let us leave them. Not to mention neither of us can drive.”

"True," Black Sheep assented, "however you didn't account for the Black Sheep master plan."  
"The Black Sheep master plan?" Julia chuckled, raising her brow.

“Yeah! You see when I'm old enough, I'll join the academy, graduate, and become the world's greatest thief. Then, after I retire early because of my awesome skills, we can go move to the Netherlands!” Black Sheep exclaimed bouncing with excitement as she told Julia her plan. “We can live in a windmill and eat stroopwafels and nobody will be able to stop us! What do you say, Jules?”

Julia was never allowed to go anywhere outside of her house, much less outside of the country. So, she loved the idea of traveling with her closest friend to different parts of the world. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine the two of them walking along the seemingly endless fields and smelling the flowers. “Absolutely! It’s a promise. Pinky promise?” Julia and Black Sheep locked their pinkies, sealing their promise. 

* * *

“I truly apologize for this.” said Cookie “I am truly embarrassed and I want to make it right.”

“According to Black Sheep, your child had nothing to do with the prank. But you know what they say, friends can have a great influence on child behavior.” said Cleo and put her hand on Cookie’s shoulder. “The other faculty refused to listen to me about Black Sheep. So, I suggest you do something about your daughter.”

Cleo’s comment cut through Cookie’s ego. She felt her shame slowly turn into anger. She liked to be known as the woman who had everything under control, that included her daughter. Cookie was not going to let a foolish child ruin that for her. Cookie lifted her head to meet Cleo’s eyes. “I’ll make sure of it.”


	4. Picnic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Black Sheep invites Julia for a meal.

There were days throughout the year in which Black Sheep laid on her bed feeling miserable that she had no way to contact her friend. No form of electronics that were allowed in the island except for those used by the faculty and staff. Sometimes, she’d cling to Coach Brunt begging her to let her send letters to Julia, but she always said, “I’m sorry little Lambkins. You know I always spoil you, but not this time.” and ruffled her hair.

She later learned that V.I.L.E. tries to keep their presence a secret. They deprive their students from having any kind of contact with the outside world to avoid being tracked. The faculty even make Cookie Booker transport all financial information through boat for those same reasons. Black Sheep’s only connection to Julia was the postcard she gifted her the year prior. It was among her most prized possessions along with the matryoshka dolls she had with her when she was found as a baby. Sometimes, she spent hours looking at the fields in the postcard and imagining herself walking along them with Julia. However, this made her miss her friend even more.

Black Sheep also realized that she never planned anything special when Julia came to visit. She always came up with ways to pull pranks which only ended with them getting in trouble. Frankly, she started to feel like she was getting too old for that kind of stuff. “I have to plan something nice this time.” She muttered to herself while she laid on her bed staring at the ceiling. She tossed and turned trying to come up with something. She turned to look at her pillows where one of her books laid against them. The cover had an illustration of two girls around her age having a picnic in a nice park. “Yes! That’s a good idea!” Black Sheep stood up from her bed and ran out of her room.

_______________________________________________________________

It took Black Sheep an hour before she could find a decent basket. Then, she rummaged through the kitchen to get her hands on anything she and Julia could enjoy. Black Sheep also thought it would be nice if she made some sandwiches. "What’s a picnic without sandwiches?" she thought. She found some bread and grabbed the rest of the ingredients from the fridge. When she was done making the sandwiches, she wrapped them in the fancy napkins Cleo ordered for one of her parties. “I don’t think she’ll mind if I use a couple.” Black Sheep said, quickly tossing the sandwiches in the basket before anyone walked in the kitchen.

She took a quick peek into the hallway before heading out. The coast was clear and she ran to the exit. Once outside, Black Sheep hid the basket between the bushes and made her way to the dock. Upon reaching the stairs, she noticed that Julia had already arrived. “Dang it I missed it!” Black Sheep runned down the stairs to greet her friend. As she got closer, she noticed there was a second man standing next to the Captain, who was tying the boat. “Jules! Jules!” Black Sheep called out to her friend. “Black Sheep! It’s...so nice to see you again.”

Julia gave her a forced smile and Black Sheep started wondering if there was something wrong. “Jules, what’s going on? Are you feeling okay?” Black Sheep had barely reached Julia when the man started making his way towards them. He was tall and looked like he was in his late twenties. His face was clean shaven and his light brown hair was loosely slicked to one side. The young man also carried himself in a somewhat arrogant manner and looked at Black Sheep like she was an insect. The man stood next to Julia without taking his eyes off of Black Sheep.

“So, this is the little trouble maker you have been telling me about?” He spoke with a French accent. “Why yes! This is the girl.” replied Cookie. 

“Black Sheep, this is Chase Devineaux. He’s my new bodyguard.” said Julia with a hint of annoyance in her tone. “That’s right! Mr. Devineaux will follow you around making sure Julia stays out of trouble.” said Cookie. “So, she will no longer be involved in any pranks.”

“Okaaayyy…” Black Sheep rolled her eyes, which annoyed Devineaux.

“Don’t worry Mrs. Booker! I will do my best to keep them... _in line.”_ said Chase looking down at Black Sheep. Julia couldn’t help but cringe. The man had been such a kiss-ass since he was hired a few days prior and she was already done with him. Julia tried to befriend him and tell him facts about the things she learned from her books, just for him to shut her up. “I’m not interested in dull facts.” he’d say to her every time. Julia longed to have someone to talk to when she wasn’t around Black Sheep, but she was not going to stand being insulted by Devineaux.

“I’m really sorry.” She whispered to Black Sheep. “There is nothing to apologize for.” replied Black Sheep, looking at Chase with defiance. Chase could already tell the girl was going to give him trouble. He will have to be extra vigilant to make sure she doesn’t pull something. 

“We should all make our way to the island! I got lots of things to do.” Cookie gestured with her hands for the group to walk. Black Sheep and Chase exchanged challenging glances the whole way. Julia could feel the tension forming between the two.

_______________________________________________________________

It had been thirty minutes since Julia had arrived and Black Sheep already could not stand Chase Devineaux. She thought the guy was too full of himself. He’d talk of how nothing could fly over his head and was always sure of people’s intentions. “If you were planning to do something, I would know _right away_. That’s why Ms. Booker hired me!” said Devineaux, following closely behind the girls. The sound of his voice was like sandpaper to their ears.

Chase put his hand on his chest, “Everyone who has met me knows I’m _very_ smart. I will make sure to show you.” He said and then started to fix his tie. Julia rolled her eyes and Black Sheep felt she was about to tear the hair off her scalp at any moment. She hated the guy’s guts and wondered how someone so insufferable could even exist. She had to come up with a way to get rid of him.

The three walked to the beach and the girls sat under the shade of the palm trees while Chase stood next to them. Julia dug her hand into the sand and let the handful she took spill from her hand. “I read in one of my books about space that there are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sa-” Julia was suddenly interrupted by Devineaux’s groan. “You’re going to start again with that are you? You should know by now that nobody will be interested in what you have to say if all you talk about is intellectual nonsense.” Black Sheep had enough.

Black Sheep stood up and pointed her finger at Chase, “Jules is talking to _me_. No one here is acknowledging your presence. So, don’t start feeling important. You’re just a lousy excuse for a babysitter.” 

Chase’s jaw flung open. He could not believe the audacity of the kid. “Listen to me. I was hired to look after you. I make the rules and you…” he pointed his finger to Black Sheep’s face, “...do as I say.” Julia tugged on Black Sheep’s hand and pulled her towards her. “It’s no use! He doesn’t care about anything we say.”

Black Sheep backed down for Julia’s sake, but she wasn’t done with him. Black Sheep reluctantly sat next to Julia on the sand, when she spotted a lizard sunbathing on the trunk of one the palm trees. “Yeah, you’re right Jules. It’s better that I don’t waste my time. Let’s change the subject! Did you know that Dr. Bellum is trying to collect this type of very rare lizard for an experiment?” said Black Sheep.

“I wasn’t aware of that,” said Julia. “Yeah! She was saying the lizards are very...ummm...genetically diverse? More so than other reptiles!” she said with awe. She could see in her peripheral that Chase was paying attention. “It’s very rare and hard to find. It can only be found on this island. She’s actually willing to pay any V.I.L.E. student a decent amount of cash if they can bring one to her.”

The man caved in. “Did you say, cash?”

“Yeah, I think she said ten grand in U.S. dollars for just one!”

“Unbelievable!”

“You better believe it. Everyone at the academy knows this very well. So, they’re very observant of their surroundings.”

He became overjoyed by the idea of getting that amount of cash on his hands. Cookie Booker paid him well, but he could not dream of making that amount of money in a month. “Tell me, how does it look?” said Chase, crouching down to Black Sheep’s level. “Hmm, well…” said Black Sheep rubbing her chin. “Dr. Bellum described them as being kind of green with eleven yellow spots on their backs. They don’t sunbathe as much as other lizards and like to hide between bushes.” said Black Sheep.

“I caught one here not long ago and gave it to Dr. Bellum. Maybe we can find more! Heck, we can help you, right Jules.” She gently nudged Julia. “Sure, what else can we do around here.” scoffed Julia. She was not very on board to go lizard hunting for Chase’s sake. Not after the way he was treating her. “Don’t worry, Jules! It’s actually really fun. Come on! Let’s make our way through this path.” Black Sheep stood up and skipped to a trail that led to the forest and the rest followed. She then began to walk through the dense foliage and pretend to search in between the bushes.

“Here is how you do it: You spread the leaves like that and you look all the way down to the root because that’s where they like to hang out.” Chase observed closely. “I’m giving you a head start here. Jules and I will look on this side.” She moved from the spot to allow Chase to start his search. Black Sheep pretended to be lizard hunting with Julia until she saw that Devineaux was too invested to be paying attention to them. She quickly pulled her friend’s arm and put her finger on her lips. “Shhh! Follow me quietly.”

The two ran swiftly through the leaves and bushes until they reached the beach again. Black Sheep bursted into laughter and lost her balance, falling onto the sand. She continued laughing and rolling on the sand wrapping her arms around her stomach. “Are those lizards even real?” asked Julia. “NO! THEY’RE THE LIZARDS FROM THE BOOK HOLES!” Black Sheep started laughing hysterically. It was so infectious that Julia started laughing along with her. 

Black Sheep tried to get up but Julia pushed her back to the sand. Black Sheep pulled her leg, causing her to lose her balance. Julia screamed as she fell and Black Sheep giggled when she hit the sand. Her friend wasted no time and threw sand at her. “Hey!” Black Sheep grabbed a handful and threw it back at Julia. The girls spend about a minute giggling and throwing sand at each other until Black Sheep waved at Julia to stop. “Okay, okay, this is fun and all, but I got something better for today. Follow me.” The girls stood and dusted the sand off their clothes and hair. 

Black Sheep then led Julia to the place where she hid the basket and pulled it out from the bushes. “Ta-da! Whatcha think?” she said while smiling at Julia. She opened the basket and showed her the sandwiches wrapped in fancy napkins. “I made these myself with, _love_.” she said, trying to sound suave and wiggling her eyebrows. “Aww! Stop it, Black Sheep.” Julia giggled and gave her a gentle push.

“Alright, I was thinking that we could have a picnic at the highest peak on the island.” said Black Sheep.

“Wait, we are going to climb up some hill?”

“No! We are just gonna take a small trail to get there. It’s not steep at all. We have to hurry before Chase notices we're gone though.”

“Right! Let’s go!”

The girls hurried to the jungle. It wasn’t long before they came across a thin, makeshift path. Black Sheep took the lead and Julia followed after her. It was obvious that the trail was recently done by Black Sheep frequently walking up to the peak because it was narrow enough for her to walk through. After a few feet, however, the path was more clear and wide enough for them to walk side by side. “There was a landslide here recently and cleared some of the plants and trees, but we have to be careful with the cliffs. They’re more unstable and slippery than usual.” With this, Black Sheep continued walking and switched the basket to her left hand.

Julia walked right next to her. She occasionally took quick glances at Black Sheep. The small rays of light that sipped between the trees made Black Sheep’s auburn hair shine red, which Julia found lovely. But she had to return her attention to the bumpy path so she wouldn’t fall. Black Sheep, on the other hand, would stare at Julia for longer periods of time. She specially paid extra attention to the freckles on her cheeks and the cluster on the bridge of her nose. She tried to count them all, but the longer she stared, the more she noticed there were more faint dots behind the most prominent ones. 

The way Julia smiled when they came across flowers made Black Sheep feel butterflies in her stomach. She always thought Julia was pretty, but this time it felt different. She just couldn’t take her eyes off of her, and the thought of this made her cheeks burn. When did she start feeling like this about her friend? Was it just plain, friendly admiration? This was all new to her. Her staring was promptly interrupted when Julia glanced back at her. “Black Sheep?” said Julia. Upon realizing what she was doing, Black Sheep began to stutter. “OH! I was just ch-checking that you did-n’t have bugs on your hair or so-mething. I-” Black Sheep felt the basket getting stuck on a branch, but when she turned to detangle it she noticed she was standing by the cliff.

In her embarrassment, she didn’t notice she backed up to the edge of the trail, but it was too late. Her foot slipped down when the ground crumbled under her weight. Black Sheep let out a scream as gravity pulled her body down. Julia quickly moved forward and reached out for her friend. She got a hold of her wrist and pulled her back to the trail with all her strength. Julia lost her balance and continued pulling Black Sheep as they both fell back. Julia’s back, however, hit a wall of rocks and Black Sheep slammed against her. 

After the pain receded, Black Sheep felt herself gripping the basket and let out a sigh of relief, but when she opened her eyes, they met Julia’s. Black Sheep’s face was centimeters away from her friend’s. The two stood there frozen staring at each other. Although Julia was still holding Black Sheep’s wrist, she could not move, only stare back at her friend.

“I’m so sorry!” said Black Sheep coming back to her senses. She tried to move her head back, but her bangs were tangled on some roots that were hanging from the top of the rocks. Julia carefully detangled Black Sheep’s hair from the roots and she was able to move back to give her some space.

“You saved me.”

“You forgot your own advice about the cliff.”

“Heh, yeah.”

“We...should make our way to the peak before it gets late.”

“Right!”

Black Sheep continued to walk back to increase the distance between her and Julia. Julia moved from the rock and walked towards her friend. She tugged on her arm, “Come on! What are we waiting for?” She said trying to sound playful in an attempt to shake off the tension that was building between the two of them. Black Sheep could not bring herself to look at Julia in the eye. She thought that, if she did, her face would definitely turn red, making things more awkward. “Going.” that’s all she could mutter.

The girls walked the rest of the way in silence. However, they could not shake the thoughts of what had happened earlier. Black Sheep only looked ahead and didn’t dare to glance at Julia. Julia only looked to the side and anxiously twisted her hair on her finger. 

After fifteen minutes of walking, Black Sheep saw the clearing ahead of her. They had finally reached the peak. The sight of open space lifted the oppressive tension that had built between the girls. Julia turned to Black Sheep and patted her shoulder. “Hey...umm...why don’t we set up the picnic?” she said. Black Sheep blushed.

She tried to brush off what was left of her embarrassment. She had planned this day to spend it with Julia and now she wasn’t going to allow anything to ruin it for her. “Absolutely!” she responded and walked ahead to find a good spot. Black Sheep settled on a spot under a tree. Julia took a blanket from the basket and spread it on the ground. Black Sheep took out the drinks and Julia the plates. 

After setting everything up, they decide to grab the sandwiches to start the feast. Black Sheep was the first one to reach into the basket to grab one. While Julia was waiting for her turn, she noticed her friend had a small scratch on her right cheek. She thought the injury was done when her hair got stuck on the roots, but it happened so fast she didn’t notice.

“Black Sheep?” said Julia.

Black Sheep perked up at the sound of Julia’s voice. “Hmmm?”

“You have a cut on your cheek.”

She ran her fingers on her cheek and felt a light sting when they reached the injury. “Crud! I didn’t even notice I had it.”

“Hold on. I got this!” Julia dug her hand on her pocket and pulled out a bandaid. She peeled off the packaging and the protective film, then proceeded to gently place it on Black Sheep’s cheek. Once again, Julia found herself very close proximity to Black Sheep and tried her best not to blush. Black Sheep, on the other hand, was screaming inside. 

“Oh, you didn’t have to Jules!” Black Sheep tried to act smooth to hide her emotions. She took a large bite of her sandwich and stared at the sky. Julia helped herself and took a sandwich for herself. “You know? This reminds me so much of our first meeting!” Julia said, breaking the silence. “Do you remember how we crawled through the vents of the academy and then ate crumpled cookies while we watched the sunset?”

“I also remember dusting crumbs on that one guy. God, he was annoying!” responded Black Sheep and the two began to giggle. “Black Sheep, you’re my best friend. In fact, I don’t think anyone could come close to you. I have met the kids of some of my mom’s clients and they were never as great as you.” 

Black Sheep gulped the bite of sandwich she had in her mouth, nearly choking. Julia continued, “I guess it’s because you are always true to yourself. You are brave enough to do your own thing, which is so much fun.” Julia began to fidget with the bread crumbs on her fingers. “I always wish I was as brave as you.”

_“WellIthinkyou’rethecoolestandsmartestpersonever!”_ Black Sheep squeaked. The words flowed out of Black Sheep’s mouth carrying all the emotions she was holding back. Julia just looked at her and giggled. “Jules, I promise I will make it up to you. I will take you to those tulip fields you wish to visit because you deserve it.” Black Sheep vowed and a faint blush formed on her cheeks.

“Thank you, Black Sheep. You always have a way of cheering me up.”

“I can’t allow my best friend to feel sad!”

Julia and Black Sheep spent the rest of the day eating and chatting. Black Sheep would crack silly jokes to make Julia laugh and Julia talked about all the books she read during the year. They also spoke about the future and what they wanted to do with their lives. Despite all their plans, their main priority was to visit the tulip fields. Before long, they noticed that the sun was setting and decided to head back before it got too dark to find their way to the academy.

When they arrived at the academy, they noticed that VILE students, security, and faculty were frantically looking for them. In the distance, Julia and Black Sheep spotted Chase Devineaux being scolded by Cookie Booker. He tried to reason with her, but all his attempts seemed to anger the woman even more. “Yikes…” muttered Julia. “Look at the bright side Jules! If he gets fired, you won’t have him following you around all day.” said Black Sheep.

“Yeah, but I feel bad for him.” Julia murmured. Deep inside, she was starting to regret the stunt they pulled on him earlier.

“There they are!” someone shouted, and the faculty, Cookie, and Chase ran towards the girls. Coach Brunt was the first one to get to them and embraced Black Sheep in a tight, bear hug. “Oh my goodness! Where on Earth have you been? I was so worried!” Julia noticed her mother marching towards her with an angry expression on her face, Chase following right behind her like a scolded puppy. “Oh no!” was all she managed to say before Cookie grabbed a hold of her arm. She pulled Julia towards her and leaned to her level. “We are going, now!” 

Cookie tugged Julia along with her. Julia tried to turn towards Black Sheep. “Black Sheep, I-” Julia blurted out and Cookie shook her to orient her back to the direction they were walking. Chase followed them, rubbing the back of his neck. Black Sheep freed herself from Brunt’s embrace enough to shout, “See you next year, Jules!”

Julia, the Bookkeeper, and Chase disappeared amongst the trees as they descended to the dock and Black Sheep felt the same kind of misery that plagued her that morning creeping back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going over the chapter and noticed several grammar mistakes and I fixed them. I apologize about that!
> 
> ~Indigo


	5. Joyride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Black Sheep takes Julia on a trip she will never forget.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for waiting patiently! Enjoy the chapter <3
> 
> TW// Drowning

The weather had not been kind in the past two weeks. Storm after storm hit the island and it showed no signs of stopping. The strong winds ravaged through the dense jungle and whistled through the nooks and crannies of the academy. The waves crashed against the coast and flooded the lower parts of the island. On some occasions, the electricity would go out and then come back, disrupting classes and other activities.

This morning, however, showed promise. The heavy, gray clouds reseeded, and the sun rose on the horizon. Its rays made the ocean waves twinkle and colored it with soft hues of purple. Black Sheep looked out her window and smiled. After sulking the entire night about the rain, she was happy to see it was gone just in time for Julia’s visit.

“I’m glad Jules didn’t have to travel during the storm.” She thought. “She is terrified of the waves.” Black Sheep strolled out of her room humming to herself as Dr. Bellum was passing down the hallway. She was scrolling through her tablet when she noticed Black Sheep. “Hmmm...today’s the day, huh?” she said. “Yup!” replied Black Sheep and continued strolling.

“Don’t do anything foolish this time!” She shouted as Black Sheep ran down the hallway.

“Okay!” Black Sheep winked and continued on her way.

Bellum shrugged, “Children...”

* * *

Black Sheep decided to wait on top of the stairs, and she sat on the rock that was facing the dock. After a while, she realized she was sitting on the rock she hid when she spotted Julia coming out of her mother’s boat for the first time. 

She thought it was funny how she used to think the rock was so big when she was seven, but so small now that she was twelve. She felt her perspective changed about a lot of things in the past few years. Especially when it came to Julia. Ever since her last visit, she found herself thinking about her daily. She thought of how much she liked the sound of her voice, her laughter, _her eyes_.

One time, she approached Coach Brunt to ask her about it. “Lambkins, girls like to admire things about each other like that. They try to get ideas so they can apply them to their looks. I wasn’t into that though.” she chuckled and gave Black Sheep a gentle push. “Don’t go around feeling insecure! You’re very pretty too!”

But that wasn’t the case.

Black Sheep did not feel envious or insecure. Thinking of Julia made her feel butterflies in her stomach. Being around her made her days brighter and she wished she could spend all her time with her. Black Sheep never had enough of hearing her talk about the things she loved and her smile made her feel like a garden was forming in her chest. She paused her thoughts for a minute. “Is it weird that I think about her like that? What would Jules think if I ever tell her? What if she never wants to be my friend again?” Her thoughts were interrupted once more by the sound of Cookie Booker’s voice. She was too inside her head to notice that the boat had arrived. “I let you off last time. So, I’m expecting you to deliver.” She told Chase Devineaux. “Great, he’s back.” Black Sheep whispered to herself.

She made her way down to meet Julia who was already off the boat. Julia spotted Black Sheep and immediately ran to her. “Black Sheep! I’m so glad to see you again!” Julia embraced her friend. “After what happened last year, I felt so bad and I didn’t even get to say goodbye and-” she was starting to get choked up when Black Sheep returned the hug. “Jules, remember it was my idea. Gosh, you should’ve said hello before you started apologizing!” The two giggled as they pulled away from each other. Meanwhile, Cookie Booker did not take her eyes off the girls. She watched as the two interacted and clenched her fist. 

Cookie could not stand Black Sheep. She always felt she was a bad influence on her child and always ended up deeply embarrassed when she was involved in one of her pranks. If it wasn’t for the fact that she wanted to avoid the water balloon attacks she wouldn’t bring Julia with her at all. 

But there was something else that bothered her even more. With every meeting, Julia seemed to react differently to Black Sheep. Her eyes would light up in a way that was probably too much for a regular friendship. Back home, when Julia spoke of Black Sheep, she’d even become flustered and her gaze would twinkle. Cookie did not want to think wrong, but she felt suspicious. Could her daughter, the one destined to be her heiress and continue her line as a bookkeeper for V.I.L.E., be into other-

No, she didn’t want to think it was possible. Children could not have such feelings! Whatever it was, she felt that Black Sheep was the one influencing Julia. Cookie turned to Chase Devineaux who was standing next to her waiting for orders. “You better keep a good eye on them. Is that understood?” said Cookie sternly. “Yes, Ms. Booker.” replied Chase. With this, Cookie made her way to her duties, but not without giving the girls a passing glance. Julia shrugged and looked away. Black Sheep returned the look in defiance. She then turned to Julia and put her hand on her shoulder.

“Everything’s good, Jules!” she said and winked at her friend. Julia just gave her a small smile. “Alright! Let’s get going, you two! I don’t want to lose my job because of you!” said Chase urging the girls towards the island. As they walked towards the stairs, Julia got a hold of Black Sheep’s hand. The move took Black Sheep by surprise and she took a glance at Julia from the corner of her eye. She noticed a faint blush forming on her cheeks. “I missed you, Black Sheep.” Julia barely whispered so her statement would stay between the two of them. The ocean waves crashing against the beach muffled the whisper enough so that Chase wouldn’t catch it. “I missed you too, Jules. I always do.” replied Black Sheep with the same level of softness and gently squeezed Julia’s hand.

Their moment was interrupted when the Captain brushed past Black Sheep, glaring at her when he looked back. It seemed Cookie and Chase weren’t the only ones that hated her, but she did not care. She had other things in mind other than worrying about them.

* * *

Chase closely followed behind the girls in silence. Black Sheep knew that Chase was going to be more vigilant after the stunt she pulled last year so it was not going to be easy to trick him. She did not think that Chase was going to be employed since that incident, but here he was.

Julia gently nudged Black Sheep, “So, what’s the plan for today?” 

Black Sheep glanced back towards Chase and then to Julia. “No idea!” she whispered.

Suddenly, a rustling in the trees nearby caught Black Sheep’s attention. From afar, she noticed Cleo’s capuchins making a racket and she realized they were near her garden. 

“Wait! What if…” Black Sheep thought. She quickly turned to her friend. “We should hang out at Cleo’s garden!” The mention of that place brought unpleasant memories for Julia of the monkeys trying to attack them. “You mean the place where-” she was interrupted when Black Sheep abruptly placed her hands on her shoulders. “Where you can find the lushest garden on the island!” Black Sheep continued and winked.

Julia had no idea what she was planning, but anything was better than walking around endlessly. As long as they stayed far away from those feral capuchins, she didn't need a rabies shot today. “Sure, why not!” she replied. With this, the three headed towards the garden.

Upon reaching the entrance of the garden, Chase hurried in front of the girls. “Hold on! I need to go in there first to check if it’s safe!”

Black Sheep rolled her eyes. “It’s Countess Cleo’s garden. What possible dangerous thing could be happening in there?”

“One may never know unless we check.” replied Chase with irritation. He hadn’t talked to the kid for the duration of the time he had been on the island and she was already getting on his nerves.

Black Sheep walked and stood by the entrance with her hands in her pocket. “Suit yourself, then.” Devineaux began to advance into the garden. Once his eyes were concentrated on what was ahead of him, Black Sheep took a handful of jellybeans from one of her pockets and carefully placed them in his jacket.

Julia gasped. “Black Sheep what are you doing?” she whispered. “Just watch, Jules.” Black Sheep whispered back. The two followed behind Chase into the garden. Once in there, Black Sheep discretely scanned the trees for any sign of the monkeys. She was able to spot them grooming themselves.

She began to make clicking sounds with her mouth to grab their attention, but Chase turned around as soon as he heard her. 

“What are you doing?”

  
  
“Clicking a tune. Why?”

He pointed his finger at her. “Don’t try to mess with me! I know what you’re up to! You can’t trick me again.” 

“I’m just standing here doing nothing. You’re so bored that you keep making scenarios in your head.” Black Sheep sassed back.

Chase grumbled and turned his back to her to end the argument. Big mistake.

Seeing that she still had the monkeys’ attention, Black Sheep threw a couple of jellybeans under the trees. The capuchins wasted no time and descended to grab the sugary snacks. She threw more jellybeans in their direction and they rushed to get their hands on them.

Black Sheep walked behind Devineaux and placed more beans in his jacket. The monkeys did not miss this and began trotting towards him. Julia could not do anything but watch everything unfold. 

One of the capuchins began to climb up Devineaux’s leg and tried to reach for his jacket. “Hey! Hey, hey, hey!” he yelled as he tried to shake to primate off of him. The commotion only riled up the other monkeys and they began to attack him.

As the capuchins ravaged Devineaux, Black Sheep took Julia’s hand and pulled her along. “Come on! Let’s get out of here!” Julia did not hesitate and let Black Sheep guide her out of the garden. “Where are we going?” Julia asked, trying to catch her breath. “You’ll see!” she responded.

Black Sheep pulled her along to the dock. They both ran down the stairs and towards the boat. Julia was confused. “Why are we going towards the boat?” Julia asked. 

“You know how I promised to take you to the tulip fields? Well, this is the time!”

“Black Sheep, are you out of your mind? There is no way we will be able to get anywhere without the keys. Plus, we’ve never driven a boat!”

“But we do!” said Black Sheep as she pulled the keys out of her pocket and twirled them on her finger. “How? When?” Julia said in disbelief. “Let’s just say I’m the best pickpocket on Vile Island.” She responded smugly. “Besides, I taught myself how to handle boats. I got this! We should get going before we get caught.” Black Sheep pulled down the ladder and climbed up to the boat. Julia was still standing on the dock not knowing if she should follow her best friend.

“Jules, come on! I got this. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise” said Black Sheep, extending her hand towards Julia. Julia hesitantly looked at Black Sheep’s hand for a few seconds. Deep inside she felt this was probably not a good plan, but how could she resist? All she ever wanted was to go on an adventure with her best friend and this was her chance.

With newfound determination, Julia took Black Sheep’s hand and said, “Let’s get out of here!” Immediately, Black Sheep pulled Julia up the ladder and to the boat. She then put the keys in the ignition and accelerated the boat in reverse. However, in the heat of the moment, they forgot to untie the boat from the dock. So, when Black Sheep switched the gear in reverse all the way, the post broke off and sent pieces of wood flying into the air. She then sped off towards the open ocean.

* * *

“How long is the trip supposed to take?”

“Uhhh…”

  
  
The girls huddled around the GPS. Julia took out a piece of paper from her pocket. “Look! I researched what ports are the closest to VILE Island and got the coordinates. Here, let me punch them in.” Black Sheep made space for Julia so she could enter the coordinates. 

“If anything, we can stop by somewhere to get some gas once we run out? We got a lot of options.” said Black Sheep as she took a hold of the steering wheel once again. “Yeah, we will need to make several stops because this trip will take us several days.” replied Julia. Black Sheep groaned. The idea of this trip was much easier said than done, but they couldn’t turn back now. Plus, it was starting to get dark.

“Well, we got several hours until we reach our first stop. So, why don’t we ask each other some questions to pass time?” Black Sheep suggested.

“What kind of questions?” asked Julia.

“I don’t know...things that we might not know about each other.” replied Black Sheep.

“I have nothing in mind, so you go first Black Sheep.”

Black Sheep thought for a moment, then she asked, “I never asked you where you live?”

“I was born in London, England, and still live there. My mom is Italian though.”

“Do you have a dad?”

“No, he died of disease before I was born. Not sure what kind because my mom never wants to talk about it. I think it pains her to think about him.”

“I’m sorry.” Black Sheep said remorsefully. She wished she had never asked Julia that question. “It’s okay! I never met him nor is he talked about at my house. So, I don’t know how to feel about him.” said Julia and she sat on one of the chairs.

“What about your parents, Black Sheep? I have never seen them.” asked Julia.

Black Sheep stayed quiet for a moment, the lapping of the ocean waves filling the silence. “I don’t know. I never met them.”

“Did they die?”

“No, it’s just... I was found in Buenos Aires, Argentina when I was a baby. There were no IDs or birth certificates on me, so whoever found me never truly knew who my parents were.” Black Sheep gripped the steering wheel to keep her pent-up emotions regarding her biological family from flowing out of her. “Which means, there is a chance I never got a name. So, I just go by my code name because I got nothing else.” Black Sheep felt tears beginning to form in her eyes and tried not to face Julia. Then, she felt her friend put her arms around her.

“Your parents didn’t know what they left behind because you’re a lovely girl and an amazing friend.” said Julia, tightening her embrace around Black Sheep. Black Sheep leaned her head against Julia’s in return. “Thank you for being there for me, Jules. I couldn't ask for a better person to be by my side”

“Hey! If you want, we can spend this time trying to find you a good name.” Julia suggested. Black Sheep wiped the tears from her eyes. “That sounds fun.” Their warm moment was cut short when the girls noticed a blanket of dark clouds in the sky quickly making its way towards them on the horizon. Black Sheep felt her body turn cold. “Oh no.” She whispered.

Black Sheep kept mumbling, “Oh no. No, no, no…”

“What is going on?” asked Julia with concern. 

“We need to turn back, Jules!” 

“Wait, why? It’s just some dark clouds. It's nothing to worry about, right?”

Suddenly, small droplets of water began to sprinkle. The patter of the droplets against the boat and the water started to put Black Sheep on edge. “I’m sorry Jules! This was an awful idea. I should’ve thought about this before we left.” cried Black Sheep.

“Thought about what?” yelled Julia.

“The storms! I thought they were gone but they’re coming back-” Suddenly, a wave rocked the boat sideways and they almost lost their footing.

Julia grabbed on to a rod, while Black Sheep found support by holding on to Julia’s shoulders. Black Sheep immediately turned to the steering wheel as soon as the swaying stopped. “This is bad! The storm is just going to get worse as it closes in on us.” said Black Sheep. The rocking from the waves was becoming more frequent and made it hard for Black Sheep to control the boat.

Her behavior started to worry Julia. “Black Sheep calm down. You might end up messing up if you start freaking out.” Before Julia could say anything else, another hard wave hit the boat on her side. Some of the water soaked Julia and the strength from the hit caused both girls to fall to the floor this time. “Damn it!” Black Sheep hissed as she got up to get a hold of the steering wheel once again. The rocking was too frequent, and the floor was so slippery that Julia struggled to get on her feet. She pulled a strand of seaweed that got tangled on her hair. “ _Black Sheep…_ ” She cried, her voice shaking.

“I’m going to go full speed to leave the storm behind! Hold on tight, Jules!” With this, Black Sheep pushed the lever of the gear all the way forward. However, this did not suffice. The storm crept closer and closer to them. The boat surfed and skipped through the water. Sometimes, they had to ride through a wave and Julia screamed in fear as they descended, and the tip splashed in the water.

Black Sheep tried to stay focused on navigating, but fear was starting to cloud her judgment. Julia took a glance at the GPS and remembered they did not enter the coordinates back to VILE Island. “Hey! Black Sheep!” Julia called. “Do you know where we are going?”

The realization that they might be getting lost sent Black Sheep in a state of panic. The sky was already dark, visibility was low, and the waves made the boat harder, and harder to control. Black Sheep was already using what was left of her strength to stay on course. She was at her wit's end. Black Sheep’s hands began to shake as she gripped the steering wheel tighter and tighter to keep it together, but it was in vain. “I’m sorry, Julia! We are going to die and it’s all my fault!” tears streamed down her face. Julia sat there shaking, unsure if it was due to fear or because she was soaking wet and cold.

Julia felt the atmosphere around them becoming bleak, but she was not ready to give up just yet. “No, we're not, not yet.” she asserted as she stood up and walked towards Black Sheep. She grabbed one half of the steering wheel, “Here, I’ll help you steer! Tell me when to turn and where.” Julia’s action gave Black Sheep the courage she needed. She nodded and wiped her tears with her arm. “Yeah, let’s go, Jules!” Before they went any further, Julia entered the coordinates to VILE island and Black Sheep accelerated the boat.

“Alright, help me turn right!” Black Sheep yelled and they both steered with all their strength. The cold rain and piercing wind made their fingers numb, but they still held on like there was no tomorrow. Suddenly, they both heard a whirring sound making its way towards them. At first, Black Sheep thought it was the wind whistling through the rain, but she saw a headlight shooting down into the water and moving erratically from where the sound was coming from. It was a helicopter! 

Her eyes lit up. “Jules! Jules! Look over there! They’re here!” Black Sheep said yelling in excitement. “We are going to be rescued! My goodness, we are going to live!” Julia cried. Black Sheep blew the horn in hopes they would be heard, but they seemed to be too far away from them to notice. “There is no use. We are going to have to make our way to them!” said Black Sheep. Julia nodded and they both began to steer once again. 

The girls took turns blowing the horn as they sped towards the helicopter. Their efforts paid off when the headlight suddenly focused on them. The girls could see the Cleaners piloting, Chase Devineaux opening the side door, and the Captain holding a rope ladder. Black Sheep never thought she would be so happy to see those four. 

In the helicopter, the Captain and Chase tried to figure out how they were going to get the girls. “We are going to have to forget about the boat.” said the Captain as Chase fastened the safety belt and rope around his waist. He handed them two extra ones for the girls, “This what you’re going to do: tie these on the girls and put them on the ladder and we’ll pull you up to safety.”

“Got it!” Chase replied and looked down at the water. He noticed the storm was making the boat drift away from the helicopter. “We are going to have to hurry though!” Down on the boat, the girls struggled to stay in control. “Just a little bit more! We got this!” said Black Sheep. The water began to turn the boat the other way. “I got this! I got this!” yelled Black Sheep as she tried to turn it back in the right direction when a large wave hit them from the side and capsized the boat.

Everything happened in slow motion. Black Sheep felt her entire world turn upside down as they both screamed and flew sideways into the water. Then, there was confusion. Everything was happening at once with the waves pushing, pulling, and spinning her body in different directions. Occasionally, she’d see the shadow of the boat above her as the helicopter shone the light down on it. Black Sheep thought that this was it when she remembered that Julia was floating down somewhere in the water.

She tried to spin and turn her body to see if she could spot her but all she could see was darkness. Luckily, the crew above them shone the light right up ahead and Black Sheep spotted Julia, floating and unconscious. She tried to make her way towards her by swimming against the currents. When she was close enough, she reached and grabbed Julia’s wrist, but as much as she tried, she couldn’t pull herself and Jules back to the surface. Black Sheep’s body was about to give out when she felt someone pulling her from the back of her shirt, but she didn’t let go of Julia’s wrist.

Before she knew it, her head was out of the water and she gasped for air. When she turned her head she realized her rescuer was no other than Chase Devineaux himself. 

“Y-You-”

“Grab on to this ladder! There is no time! Where’s Julia?”

  
  
“I got her! I got her...” she sputtered; her mouth full of frigid seawater.

Black Sheep barely pushed Julia’s body out of the water enough for Chase to see her. Chase grabbed Julia and fastened the belt around her. Black Sheep grabbed on to the ladder and so did Chase while holding Julia. Then, the Captain and one of the Cleaners pulled them up to the helicopter. Black Sheep could not help but sob the whole way up there, but at least she knew she was safe. Her relief did not last, though. Upon making it inside the helicopter, they all realized that Julia was unresponsive.

“Feel her pulse!” called the Captain, but Chase’s fingers were too cold and shaky to feel anything. Black Sheep’s world went into whirl once again as Chase and the Captain tried to shake Julia awake to no avail. The cleaner shook his head and walked back to the cockpit. All noises and voices around her were muffled as all her focus was on her friend’s body lying motionless on the floor. _“Jules. Jules.”_ she sobbed as she shakingly made her way towards her friend and dropped to her knees. She began to crawl and when the Captain noticed her.

“Step back! Haven't you done enough damage?” he snarled, but Black Sheep did not listen. Devineaux did not try to stop her either. He then yelled, “Does anyone here know CPR? Come on!” His yelling made Black Sheep come back to her senses. “I-I do! I do know CPR!” said Black Sheep. “I’m not about to let you mess this up more than it already is.” grumbled the Captain. “I don’t think we have any other options. I don’t know CPR!” replied Chase and then turned to Black Sheep. “If what you’re saying is true, then go ahead.” He said as he made way to give Black Sheep access to Julia.

“Okay, how did Coach Brunt say it was?” she mumbled to herself and squeezed her eyes shut to remember. She tried to replay the memory of that day in her head. She could see the Coach standing next to her as she tried to give her a quick lesson on CPR. The dummy was lying in front of her just as Julia was. _“Okay, Lambkins! Here’s how you’re going to do it: First, make sure they’re layin’ on their back and tilt their head up to open the airway.”_

  
  
Black Sheep tilted Julia’s head as so. _“Put ya head on their chest for a few seconds to check for breathin’.”_ She then laid her head on her friend’s chest. _“Now, put your hands on top of each other right in the middle of their chest and start compressing.”_ She quickly followed suit and began the compressions on her chest. _“Now, this is the most important part! You’re gonna tilt their head again and pinch their nose. Then, you’re going to seal their mouth with yours and deliver two breaths into ‘em.”_ Back when she was taking the lesson with Coach Brunt, the thought of making lip contact with someone else made her giggle, but this was no laughing matter. 

So, without hesitation, Black Sheep tilted Julia’s head, pinched her nose, and pressed her lips against hers. She delivered two breaths and watched as her chest lifted. She tried another set of compressions and delivered two more breaths to Julia. The Captain and Chase began to lose hope, but by the third time, as Black Sheep had her lips pressed against hers, Julia opened her eyes. The feeling of Black Sheep’s lips made her eyes widen and she began to cough. Black Sheep moved away quickly, and Chase turned Julia on her side so she could spit out the water.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief while Black Sheep was overcome with joy. “JULES!” she cried and wrapped her arms around Julia in a tight embrace. “I thought I was going to lose you!” Julia pushed Black Sheep weakly. “What’s going on?” Black Sheep asked confused.

  
Julia then put her pallid fingers against her lips while giving Black Sheep a puzzled look. That’s when it hit her.

  
 _“Oh my god, I kissed Jules! I kissed Jules! I put my lips against hers! I’m-”_ was all that was playing through her head as she stood frozen staring back at Julia. Her face was almost as red as her hair. The adults didn’t seem to realize what was going on. They were glad the girls were safe but were now concerned about making it back to VILE Island through the severe and perilous storm.


End file.
